Everything Engineering

Another micromirror project update

2011-11-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

Added the last polysilicon layer to mount the mirror on. Some minor changes have been made since uploading:

Project 1 for MEMS: Micromirror: Update

2011-11-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

We have a 3d model! Now to load it in ANSYS!

How amazing is Nanotechnology?

2011-11-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

Breakthrough: This metal is almost as light as air

Ultralight materials are usually made up of chaotic structures, like the bubbles in aerogel. But this metal is created out of a solid, repeating structure. It's called an ultralight metallic microlattice, and it's produced in an intriguing way. The method involves using a liquid photopolymer which solidifies when hit by ultraviolet radiation. Scientists shine light on the liquid through a pattern. Only the exposed bits of the liquid become solid, creating a lattice-work scaffold, which is then coated with nickel-phosphorous. Once the photopolymer is etched away, all that is left is a 3D, hollow lattice of metal which is more air than anything else.

Video in action

Project 1 for MEMS: Micromirror

2011-11-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

The assignment:

The objective of this project is to design a surface machining fabrication lay out for a MEMS torsional micromirror using the SANDIA SUMMiT V fabrication process and design tools.

Using the SANDIA SUMMiT V design and visualization tools, design the surface micromachning lay out for the torsional micromirror shown in the attached Power Point file. The micromirror should contain etch holes, dimples…etc as necessary. The accompanying Power point file (located on the S-drive) displays the mirror’s geometry and needed information.

My early model:

Pictures from last week's Nanotechnology lab

2011-04-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

This semester I'm taking an intro course for MEMS and Nanotechnology as a part of the MS/NT minor. Here are some pictures taken from a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) of a bug and a MEMS chip

As a comparison, the diameter of a human hair varies from 17 to 181 µm

Ever wonder why HP/Torque fall off after a cetain RPM?

2010-04-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

You're not the only one...
In short, from the first reply of that thread...

The relation between torque, power and angular speed is

Power falls off below a peak located at high engine speed, because less fuel/air (energy source) is brought in and burned per second. If that were the only factor, then power output would be proportional to angular speed

and torque would remain constant down to idle. In fact passenger car engines have a fairly broad and flat torque curve. See the curves at, e.g.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_band

However engine efficiency drops with at low speeds since combustion chamber shape, bore/stroke ratio, manifold runner shape and length, valve lift and intake/exhaust valve overlap, to name just a few factors, are tuned for best performance at higher engine speeds. Thus torque eventually falls. In racing cars, the tuning is "peakier," that is, they produce far more peak power but only over a narrow RPM range. As you might expect, the torque curve isn't as flat in this case, and it falls off more rapidly. See Fig. 3 here
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/tech/hp_torque.html

Vehicles that are optimized for very high torque at very low vehicle speed either have no high end to speak of (road graders, bulldozers) or, if they need both, use different systems (diesel-electric locomotives).

Update 12/13/10: revised picture links

Nanotechnology, what can't it do?

2010-03-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Link

The storage and generation of electricity is a hotbed of scientific study around the world. New and improved methods of storing electricity have a myriad of potential uses from phones and laptops that run longer to new electric vehicles with much greater driving range.

At the center of much of the research in the storage and generation of power in batteries and other devices are carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotube has been studied for decades and new advances over the last few years have made the nanotubes easier to produce and have offered breakthroughs in the use of carbon nanotubes.

Microsystems and Nanotech: Why I am interested

2010-03-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a short presentation I made for GE1000, Intro to Engr. Projects, on MS/NT

Link

Got Power Needs? Get an Energy Box.

2010-02-25T15:38:00.000-08:00

With the announcement of Bloom Energy's Energy "Servers," the green movement took another step to being practical on the corporate level. Companies with huge energy demands like websites such as eBay, Google, etc, with many servers demanding a power bill of, for eg, $1million per month, more cost-efficient methods to feed these beasts will sound very attractive. From DailyTech:

The so-called "Bloom Energy Servers" – which are about as tall as an adult male – can use virtually any hydrocarbon fuel (methane, propane, ethanol, gasoline, liquified coal) and produce energy twice as efficiently as a coal plant. Bloom Energy is trying to revolutionize the power generation industry – the key is cutting out the middle-man (power transmission) and embracing a modular design akin to servers, the backbone of the internet.

Bloom also wants to expand into the consumer market around the $3000 range. This could get more consumers on the alternative bandwagon as solar and wind power are not practical/cost efficient for most Americans.

The real flesh of Bloom Energy's plan, though, is its planned consumer debut which will be carried out over the next few years. Bloom aims at providing consumers with $3,000 units that will produce enough power to support the average home at minimal fuel cost. It plans to push the power generation industry towards the same model that made the internet so fabulously successful -- server-based scaling. In fact, it refers to its products as energy "servers" -- entirely flexible, modular power units.

There is one idea that has not been touched yet: If the cells could be downsized to fit in a car, could the idea of a fuel cell car like the GM Autonomy come sooner?

My thoughts on the Toyota dilemna

2010-02-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

Toyota, before 2010, is probably best known through the manufacturing world as the standard for quality and lean manufacturing through the Toyota Production System. Many principles used throughout the Quality world stem from their techniques to eliminate waste and make a better product. Part of the quality environment includes finding problems before a customer uses it.

Fast forward to 2010: A problem is found with the gas pedal of over 4.5M Toyota cars. From the FAQ

The issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the proper “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal steady and stable. This friction device includes a “shoe” that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating smoothly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to return to the idle position or, in rare cases, the pedal sticks, leaving the throttle partially open

I have a few questions for Toyota:

Was there any feedback from customers saying they wanted the "feel"in the first place? This is like GM, Chrysler and Ford sticking with the traditional knobs to roll down windows over the safer buttons because "it looked better"
Why wasn't this material tested? With any friction in play, the force might be enough for the pedal to come back?

Having we gone faster than light?

2010-01-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

Or is it just an illusion?

The researchers observed that single photons that completely penetrated the stack passed through in about 12.84 femtoseconds. If the team added an additional single layer of low refractive index material to the stack at the end the photon took an additional 3.52 femtoseconds to pass through the stack.

However, if the team added a single high refractive index layer to the end of the stack the single photons were able to pass through the entire stack in 5.34 femtoseconds. With the photon passing through the stack in 5.34 femtoseconds the photon appears to travel at faster than light speeds.

In my opinion, no, the word "appears" is a big clue. Plus, it required going through a refractive layer to achieve such speed. The interference between the waves altered the tests too.

Most importantly, the low amount of photos being able to make such speeds made it statistically irrelevant. More studies will be needed.

Original Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/nios-std012610.php

Updates for 1/19

2010-01-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great new year's. As for the experiments, I will not be doing the analog computer as I have moved to Platteville to attend for school and did not bring the DMM. The memory module might be done later as well as any op-amp circuits since I will need to purchase the necessary short circuits.

One project I will run will be more of a case study of the importance of education and the BSME from my time at Jorgensen Conveyors...this should be far more simple as it will only require simulations be run in Inventor

World's First Molecular Transistor Created by Scientists

2009-12-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

This is a big step: as the year 2022 looms, the transition to 11nm will too. Current fabrication techniques are nearing the end as of now due to R&D costs and the effects of quantum tunnelling at such small dimensions. To achieve 11nm processes, other non-CMOS technologies might have to be used, including nanotechnology. Nanotech got a big boost this year as a Benzene molecule was used as a transitor:
The researchers were able to manipulate the molecule's different energy states depending on the voltage they applied to it through the contacts. By manipulating the energy states, they were able to control the current passing through the molecule.

"It's like rolling a ball up and over a hill, where the ball represents electrical current and the height of the hill represents the molecule's different energy states," Reed said. "We were able to adjust the height of the hill, allowing current to get through when it was low, and stopping the current when it was high." In this way, the team was able to use the molecule in much the same way as regular transistors are used.

Link

10 Mistakes Made When Outside Sourcing:

2009-12-21T11:23:00.000-08:00

Although the Original Post was about semiconductor fabrication, all of the lessons can be applied to companies contracting their manufacturing needs outside of North America. My thoughts are in italics:

1. Management Of The Subcontractor - Inadequate
Most work is outside sourced (outsourced) simply on a cost issue, where the company assumes the contractor will operate just like they will.
2. Ineffective Deployment Of Key Contributors
The right people need to be hired to manage this relationship. The right people can communicate needs to the contractor and balance both sides desires.
3. Subcon Selection Misfit
Many times the contractor is simply selected on the bottom line. However, more needs to be considered. Given two companies with one having the ability to mfg for a dollar less, the cheaper contractor looks better on the books. However, if the costlier contractor is, for example, has a better quality record, the better contractor needs to be selected
4. Relationship Lacking for Best Fit
Again, the bottom line fallacy fails again
5. Due Diligence Not Performed Well
6. Cultural Differences Not Recognized
From the original source:

Lack of knowledge in dealing with different cultures and language barriers required to effectively manage the subcontractor for optimum results, i.e. Different communication styles, attitudes towards conflict, approaches to completing tasks, decision-making styles, attitudes towards disclosure

7. Transition Product/Software/Hardware – Poor Preparedness
Anyone who has taken a foreign language class understands there is more to language than putting a sentence through BabelFish. Since language is a concept of a culture identity, the disconnect between Eastern and Western cultures is further divided unless one is semifluent in the other's language.
8. Ineffective Strategy And Plans
Many companies that outsource see outsourcing as a miracle worker that will solve all their needs, not understanding the consequences of the disconnection between the two companies.
9. Corporate Support Insufficient Relative To Staffing, Budget And Time Lines
The politics of the corporate structure further hurt the project as far too often upper managers will give an unrealistic time line and/or limited budget.
10. Contract/Administration – Lack of Attention To

For more information, please read the original article. It's worth a look

Finally, a practical storage method for Hydrogen?

2009-12-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

It could happen.

On Nov. 25, Germany's Federal Institute for Materials Research & Testing (known by its German acronym, BAM) released results of nearly two years of tests on C.En's technology, which involves the storage of compressed hydrogen inside bundles of thin, strong tubes of glass, known as capillary arrays. "The lightweight storage and safety factors give the technology a huge commercial potential for a whole range of industries," says Kai Holtappels, who heads up the working group at BAM that has been testing the technology since February 2008.

Ignoring the political factor of 'Climate Change,' a safer storage method could be another step towards Hydrogen as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels. The benefits of Hydrogen, if applied correctly, would not only lead for more buisness opportunites in the U.S., but also for the end-user: where most of consumed Hydrogen is used, most of gasoline in a car is simply lost as heat.

Will it work?

2009-12-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Before the first experiment will be performed, the parts that have been acquired will need to be tested. They are:

320Ω Resistor
510 Ω Resistor
Solderless Breadboard
LED

The schematic:

The real deal (without the battery - as an open circuit)

Will it work? Since V=IR, we can find the current by dividing the voltage (3V) over the total resistance, (510+320 = Ω) to find that the circuit will provide .0036A, or 3.6mA, well under the maximum current of the LED.

And...

...everything works. Couldn't say that about some other parts I've bought!

First Experiment: An analog breadboard computer

2009-11-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

For my first experiment, I will build a computer. No, not a supercomputer, not a desktop, not even a netbook. It is a computer that can only do one mathematical operation: averaging three quantities together. With the schematic setup below and when the voltmeter is connected to the circuit at the point shown in the schematic and illustrations, it should register the algebraic average of the three batteries' voltages:

Why is this called a computer? From the expirement website:

The sheer simplicity of this circuit deters most people from calling it a "computer," but it undeniably performs the mathematical function of averaging. Not only does it perform this function, but it performs it much faster than any modern digital computer can! Digital computers, such as personal computers (PCs) and pushbutton calculators, perform mathematical operations in a series of discrete steps. Analog computers perform calculations in continuous fashion, exploiting Ohm's and Kirchhoff's Laws for an arithmetic purpose, the "answer" computed as fast as voltage propagates through the circuit (ideally, at the speed of light!)...Digital computers enjoy the advantage of performing mathematical operations with much better precision than analog computers, albeit at much slower theoretical speeds.

This analog computer will do nothing more than proving network theorems and equivalent circuits. Regardless, it is a start, and all that will be needed for purchase is a breadboard, which will cost between $4 and $10, opening the doors for future experiments like NAND logic gates, Amplifier Circuits, and 1 bit memory modules.

Welcome!

2009-11-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks for viewing my blog! My name is Jon; I am 20 year old prospective BS/ME student at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Despite my young age, I have a lot of interest in anything on the engineering level, from the business side to the R&D. I also have quite the experience due to a few internships I have held at three different companies in two departments. For more info, you can check out my LinkedIn profile

I'm planning discussing my thoughts on the business environment, such as improving communication between the engineering department and other departments, technology within a design environment, and effective management. In addition, I love the science side of engineering. Currently I am planning on purchasing a breadboard to run electrical engineering experiments (such as creating a 1-bit memory module to more complex logic gates) and going through the process of the experiment. Further down the road, design projects from UWP will be detailed. Posibilties include our senior design project and MS/NT minor research paper (if I choose to take that minor) Finally, I will pass along news in engineering regarding future technology, such as carbon nanotubes and MEMS.